Rehabilitation & Preservation
The Joplin Carnegie Library requires extensive work to rectify current issues, begin to bring the property back to life, and to rehabilitate her former glory. Read on to learn more about this work.
Interested in financially supporting the rehabilitation and preservation work at The Joplin Carnegie Library? Click below to learn more - and Thank You!
01
Building Safety
The library building is currently missing windows and doors and is subject to being entered by persons in the area. For the safety of people and the building, steps need to be taken to secure the building.
02
Community Buy-in
We must develop excellent working relationships with community, state, & national groups that can specifically support work of this kind. We will lean on local groups to support rehabilitation & preservation work via connections (such as approved vendors & financing) and guidance (such as compliance with laws & guidelines and tapping into available grants & tax credits). We must also establish excellent relationships with local groups (such as fellow Downtown Joplin organizations, art/literacy organizations, & educational groups) and Joplin residents.
Join the community!
03
Fundraising
Estimates for a complete rehabilitation of the building have been given ranging up to $3 million. We will need to engage multiple avenues of fundraising including but not limited to: available grants, a membership platform, crowd-funding, income-producing events, and fundraising activities.
04
Water Intrusion
Water intrusion will continue to damage the building and foundation. These areas should be addressed as soon as possible to prevent increasing damage.
05
Structural Work
The building has experienced some settling, but is believed to be in sound structural condition overall. Any issues should be identified and corrected (as far as possible) as soon as possible. This includes clearing nearby vegetation as needed.
06
Fire Damage
The building experienced a fire in 2022 and has been subject to several additional instances of arson. Fire damage should be cleaned up/remediated (as far as possible) as soon as possible to prevent increasing damage.
07
General Clean Up
Large amounts of shelvings, books, and other items left in the building have been subject to years of vandalism and property damage. The building needs to be cleaned out of all items and debris.
08
Phased Improvements
Once general improvement work can begin, a smart approach to improvements should be taken. Areas of the buildings combined with target building uses will be assessed in order to determine the first wave of improvements. For example, if the main floor is to be offered as a wedding reception site, improvement work will begin here - leaving the basement level and second level for subsequent improvement phases.
